Mark Richey's wind turbine and solar energy future

As noted in our fall press release, Mark Richey Woodworking decided to dismantle our wind turbine. It was officially removed on November 20, 2025, after 15 years of faithful green energy service.

Today, we'd like to address questions we've heard from our community about wind energy and our turbine, as well as our future plans for investing even more in solar energy.

Why we initially invested in wind energy

"I have always wanted to build a company around environmental stewardship and green technology. This move to Newburyport from Essex gave us that opportunity because we were starting almost from scratch with a building that was derelict, that needed to be entirely gutted. We were able to plan from the ground up with things like infrastructure, energy systems, everything. The plan was always to create a business that was as sustainable as possible." –Mark Richey

The first sustainability initiative was installing a biomass furnace. While visiting shops across Europe, Our President, Mark Richey and Treasurer, Teresa Richey, saw firsthand how wood waste was used to generate heat during cold winter months. That approach inspired us to explore producing electricity from our own wood waste, but we ultimately learned we don’t generate enough material to support heat and electricity. From there, we looked at solar and wind energy options. At the time wind was a more cost-effective way to produce electricity so we conducted research and discovered that we had an excellent location for wind generation. That's when we settled on the wind turbine as another green energy solution.

The large-scale wind turbine, which was the first of its kind on the North Shore of Boston, was one way we demonstrated our firm commitment to green manufacturing through the use of renewable energy.

When operational, it was producing 60 percent of the electricity necessary to power our business.

The wind turbine's impact and legacy

The next generation

Over the years,  thousands of children have visited the wind turbine on school field trips to learn about clean energy. These green energy educational options provided exposure to concepts that are not always covered in mainstream school environments. We hope it inspires the next generation to build a better world.

The skyline

The local view will look different for a lot of people now. Many considered the wind turbine to be a landmark in our community. We are sorry to see it go, but all things come to an end to make room for new innovations.

When we initially posted social videos about the wind turbine's end, many reacted. We curated a few of your words to share with the community.

"Wow, 15 years!! Can’t believe you all installed the wind turbine that many years ago, how visionary!" –Melissa S.

"RIP grandpa windmill. Yay about the solar canopy!" –Jon M.

Your wind energy questions, answered
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1. Was the wind turbine worth it?
   
   Absolutely! If we could've kept the wind turbine going, we would've, but repair parts could not be sourced and became prohibitively expensive to custom manufacture.
   
   Also, one thing we learned from being wind pioneers in our area is that, due to the complexity, wind turbines should be built where you can have a group to achieve economy of scale.
   
   Without a doubt, wind technology nowadays is geared toward much larger turbines. The real power makers of today are producing 4-5x ours in terms of generation because they have one foundation, one set of permitting, etc. We are still very thankful to our one turbine for powering us up for more than a decade.
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2. Why have you chosen to remove the wind turbine at this juncture?
   
   Wind technology has gotten better, but maintenance is complicated, whereas solar is quite simple. It converts sun energy into electrical energy by going through simple transformers. The wind turbine is complex, utilizing gearboxes, generators, and hydraulics, which all require specific expertise. Having just one turbine with the designer out of business put us in a challenging maintenance position. We wanted to pursue a solution with current experts and parts available for maintenance that makes sense for our next chapter.
   
   It should also be noted that over the last few years, due to previously mentioned maintenance issues, we have rarely had both wind and solar operating at full capacity. We expect to generate more power by changing our green energy investment strategy.
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3. What's happening now?
   
   We already have a solar array on our rooftop that produces ~400 kWh and occupies ~80,000 square feet, which powers ~40 percent of our business.
   
   In 2026, we will install a solar canopy over our parking lot that will span the entire length. It will be 45 feet wide on one edge, with part of it extending over into the edge of the green space, pitched so that water and snow will run off into it. The best place to install solar panels is in areas that are already impervious. Essentially, places that aren’t supporting growth.
   
   We've thought everything through! The canopy will allow for 50 covered parking spaces during inclement weather. Posts supporting the canopy will be set back from the parking lot, so there’s no chance of damage from snow plows. There will also be five charging stations available for employees to use, helping to encourage them to consider purchasing electric vehicles in the future.
   
   The current projections show this solar canopy's ability to produce ~450 kWh, translating to ~40-50 percent coverage in terms of power production, bringing us to 90 percent powered in an even more reliable way.
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4. Will you still welcome schools to visit Mark Richey Woodworking?
   
   Definitely. We remain committed to green woodworking, green manufacturing, and green energy, and to educating the next generation of potential woodworkers (did you know we have an Apprenticeship Program?) on everything that can help them craft a better world.
   
   It has never been more important to discuss green energy. The pullback of support at the federal level necessitates the need to get people excited about it.
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Mark Richey Woodworking's solar energy future

"To ‘go net zero’ is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and/or to ensure that any ongoing emissions are balanced by removals." –Net Zero Climate

We are fully invested in achieving net-zero status one day. At present, we are very close. Here are some sustainability metrics to illustrate this point.

• 793 tons: The amount of carbon dioxide prevented from entering the atmosphere in a single year from our use of wind and solar energy
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• 8,938 MWh: Total lifetime energy generation from our solar and wind installations. Enough to power nearly 1,000 homes for an entire year
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• 10.8 MMCF: Our biomass furnace avoids the use of roughly 10.8 million cubic feet of natural gas each year - enough to heat 180 homes. It also prevents waste wood and dust from reaching landfills and negates associated trucking impacts.
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• 70 percent less: When properly managed and responsibly purchased, wood is a clean, renewable resource, producing less air and water pollution while using fewer ecological resources. 70 percent less energy is required in the use of wood compared with any other building material.

Naturally, since we have removed our wind turbine, these numbers will dip temporarily, but our solar canopy will bring us back to normal. It is expected to be complete by fall 2026.

We are currently going through the permitting process. Then comes interconnection. The interconnection process is always the most complicated, as it enables us to connect to the grid, allowing us to generate power when we're not using it, which is essential. To interconnect with the grid, we will work with the utility, which involves a comprehensive study with multiple steps and associated paperwork, as well as infrastructure and fees. We are hoping for a streamlined process, as we already have that interconnectedness in place for the wind turbine. We're also preparing to begin drilling for a geotechnical survey that will test the placement of the structural pylons.

The best way to learn more about the solar canopy and watch it unfold is on our Instagram. We'll be sure to post videos of the process.

Whether we're crafting architectural woodwork or the finest corporate furniture, our business is perpetually focused on environmentally responsible woodworking. That means creating a pipeline of talented, driven individuals who care, upholding standards that aren't required but are needed in this world, and communicating all of this to our community. To you.

If you have further questions about our wind turbine, solar energy plans, green manufacturing, or any other topic, we're here to help.
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FAQs

• How many kWh was Mark Richey Woodworking's former wind turbine?
  ‍Mark Richey Woodworking's turbine had a capacity of 600 kWh.
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• How much electricity was created from Mark Richey Woodworking's former wind turbine?
  ‍Our turbine historically generated 60 percent of the total electricity needed to power our manufacturing facility in Newburyport, Massachusetts. That level will now be accomplished using solar energy.
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• How big was Mark Richey Woodworking's former wind turbine?
  ‍The turbine was 292 feet tall, with a blade span of 158 feet.
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• When was Mark Richey Woodworking's wind turbine initially installed?
  ‍We erected our wind turbine in 2009. It was removed in 2025 when parts for its repair could no longer be found. It was a worthwhile 15-year solution.
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• Why was Mark Richey Woodworking's wind turbine taken down?
  ‍Parts to repair the turbine could no longer be sourced, and the designer was no longer in business, so the decision was made to find an alternative green energy source: solar.
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• What other types of green energy does Mark Richey Woodworking use?
  ‍Mark Richey Woodworking already maintains a 500 kWh rooftop solar array. The 80,000-square-foot array produces approximately 630 MWh of electricity per year. Now that the wind turbine has been taken down, we will be increasing our solar investment to fill the wind energy deficit. Specifically, we will be adding a solar canopy. Beyond solar energy, Mark Richey Woodworking also has a biomass furnace. Our furnace heats 85,000 square feet of the 105,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, eliminating fossil fuel consumption and significantly reducing waste.
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• Why didn't Mark Richey Woodworking provide advanced notice of the wind turbine's removal?
  ‍It was a safety concern. We refrained from announcing the landmark change in advance due to worries that spectators may want to visit during its removal.
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• What is Mark Richey Woodworking's primary green manufacturing goal?
  ‍We are continually striving to achieve net-zero status. Teresa and Mark have always wanted to have as significant an impact as possible, to help reverse climate change and be good stewards of the environment.
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• What will happen to the pieces of the defunct wind turbine?
  ‍The metal will be recycled, and the electrical infrastructure will be repurposed for our parking lot solar canopy.